Cities can help soak up carbon: study

Scientists have offered a slender piece of good news about global warming, reporting that cities can be of surprising help in soaking up carbon dioxide, the principal greenhouse gas.
About 4 per cent of the world's land surface is defined as urbanised, a figure expected to surge as the planet's human population rises from 7 billion this year to as much as 9.5 billion by mid-century.
But unlike forests, urban areas are absent in most calculations of "sinks" where vegetation soaks up carbon dioxide naturally thanks to photosynthesis.

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A new study, though, says the contribution can be significant.
British scientists carried out their survey on the central English city of Leicester, which has a population of about 300,000 living in an area of 73 square kilometres.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/cities-can-help-soak-up-carbon-study-20110712-1hbnu.html#ixzz1Rtpr3BdG